Page 195 - The Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report

952 Sondland Hearing Tr. at 118. See also Witness Testimony and Records Raise Questions About Account of Trump’s ‘No Quid Pro Quo’ Call, Washington Post (Nov. 27, 2019) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/witness-testimony-and-records-raise-questions-about-account-of-trumps-no- quid-pro-quo-call/2019/11/27/425545c2-0d49-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html).
953 Sondland Hearing Tr. at 118.
954 Sondland Hearing Tr. at 73.
955 Statement of Ambassador Gordon Sondland at 1 (Nov. 4, 2019). This addendum did not address the July 26 telephone conversation that Sondland had with President Trump, which he only recalled following the testimony of David Holmes on November 15, 2019.
956 Statement of Ambassador Gordon Sondland at 3 (Nov. 4, 2019). 957 Kent-Taylor Hearing Tr. at 43-44; Morrison Dep. Tr. at 190-191. 958 Morrison Dep. Tr. at 190-191; Kent-Taylor Hearing Tr. at 43-44. 959 Sondland Hearing Tr. at 109.
960 Sondland Hearing Tr. at 45, 109.
961 Kurt Volker Document Production, Bates 20 (Oct. 4, 2019).
962 Kurt Volker Document Production, Bates 20 (Oct. 4, 2019).
963 Kurt Volker Document Production, Bates 53 (Oct. 4, 2019).
964 Kurt Volker Document Production, Bates 53 (Oct. 4, 2019).
965 The White House, Press Briefing by Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (Oct. 17, 2019) (online at www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-acting-chief-staff-mick-mulvaney/).
966 The White House, Press Briefing by Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (Oct. 17, 2019) (online at www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-acting-chief-staff-mick-mulvaney/).
967 The White House, Press Briefing by Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (Oct. 17, 2019) (online at www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-acting-chief-staff-mick-mulvaney/). Ambassador Taylor’s testimony contradicted Mr. Mulvaney’s statement about the ubiquity of such quid pro quos in American foreign policy. Ambassador Taylor testified that in his decades of military and diplomatic service, he had never seen another example of foreign aid conditioned on the personal or political interests of the President. Kent-Taylor Hearing Tr. at 55. Rather, “We condition assistance on issues that will improve our foreign policy, serve our foreign policy, ensure that taxpayers’ money is well-spent.” Kent-Taylor Hearing Tr. at 150.
968 There were early concerns raised in the House and Senate about the frozen aid, even before the news became public. On August 9, the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees wrote to OMB and the White House warning that the August 3 letter apportionment might constitute an illegal impoundment of funds. They urged the Trump Administration to adhere to the law and obligate the withheld funding. Letter from Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy, Senate Committee on Appropriations, and Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey, House Committee on Appropriations, to Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, The White House, and Acting Director Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget (Aug. 9, 2019) (online at https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/documents/SFOPS%20Apportionme nt%20Letter%20Lowey-Leahy%20Signed%202019.8.9.pdf). On August 19, the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate Budget Committees wrote to OMB and the White House urging the Administration to comply with appropriations law and the Impoundment Control Act. Letter from Chairman John Yarmuth, House Committee on the Budget, and Ranking Member Bernard Sanders, Senate Committee on the Budget, to Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, The White House (Aug. 19, 2019) (online at https://budget.house.gov/sites/democrats.budget.house.gov/files/documents/OMB%20Letter_081919.pdf).
969 Letter from Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Rob Portman, Richard Durbin, Ron Johnson, and Richard Blumenthal to Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (Sept. 3, 2019) (online at www.shaheen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Ukraine%20Security%20Letter%209.3.2019.pdf).
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